Those devided by waves aren't lonely
by Aafje98
Summary: If it had been any other day, guarding a ship would be no problem for Spartos. But this was no normal day. (idk what to tag this)


**This was written for a friend on ao3 and my rp group. She writes amazing Shartos fics and I wanted to do something back. This was also inspired on a fanart piece I found on Pixiv (which fanfiction won't let me link). Also, I'm sorry for the many grammar mistakes**

 **Those divided by waves do not have to be lonely**

* * *

The seas surrounding Sindria were well-known for their dangers. Big creatures roamed around, trying to assure that no living human would sail there. And if they did, the creatures would make sure their lives would not continue much longer. But for that exact reason did the eight generals exist. Not only did they protect the island, the ships of those wishing to enter its borders would gain protection as well. And it was never a problem. That was until things were different from usual.

"So…" Sharrkan said as he leaned over the railing of the ship and stared at the waves surrounding them. "is this what you do all day? For months? Looking at waves and hoping something attacks?"

Spartos, who was staying close to the water as well, sighed softly. "You do not hope the ship gets attacked. You hope it stays safe until we reach our destination."

"Boring." Was the answer he got. And with that Spartos decided to leave him alone. Guarding ships was Spartos' most common job. The knight thought of himself as unfit to be in big crowds. And that was why he loved the Southern seas. He could be on his own here, alone with only soldiers to be at his side. And Hinahoho. The Imchakk was always with him, helping out with battling the creatures of the sea. Hinahoho was great company, but for this trip he had to sit out. Kikiriku had fallen ill and as a father, Hinahoho had asked of the king to stay behind in Sindria to take care of his son. And then Sharrkan had been there. Excited Sharrkan who wanted nothing else than to take Hinahoho's spot.

Spartos wondered what the Heliohaptan had been thinking when he volunteered. Guarding wasn't the most exciting job, but it was respected. The smile on a trader's face when his ships were saved from destruction was everything Spartos needed. It was enough to have him keep going. As long as people were happy, Spartos would be happy as well.

He decided to retreat for some time. Perhaps Sharrkan had been right and this voyage would be a boring one. The sea did seem calm. He walked inside, to the cabin that had been reserved for him. There were some old books in there. Spartos missed the scriptures he had in Sindria, but he couldn't risk having them be destroyed at sea. So instead he was stuck with some old books. It was fine, he had gotten used to this.

 **…**

The waves were getting restless. The ship started to rock and the wood made screeching sounds. Spartos had fallen asleep in his room, laying over his scrolls, his room dark from the lack of light. A storm had started to pick up, the knocking on Spartos' door from soldiers wanting his advice, was ignored. But as the ship started to move more the knight started to wake up. His scrolls had fallen on the floor, the lamp on his ceiling was moving around at a dangerous pace, making Spartos glad the thing wasn't lit.

He ran outside, finding the ship in a way he wished he had never seen. The sky was dark, the wind throwing high waves all over the ship. The soldiers ran around, trying to keep their ship floating. In the middle of it all was Sharrkan, who guided the soldiers to make sure they were doing fine.

"Sharrkan!" Spartos ran to Heliohaptan, clinging to his lance as he moved, "What happened? Why did no one get me?"

Sharrkan looked up, his facing showing some relief in the amount of stress he was harboring, "Trust me, we tried, you didn't wake up when we called for you. Thought we could handle this ourselves, but it seems…" He frowned looking at the ocean that was surrounding them. Something was clearly wrong. "We don't know where this storm came from, but the ocean seems to be unruly."

Rain kept pouring down, waves throwing even more water on top of the ship. Quickly collecting himself, Spartos took the job to lead the soldiers, but as much as he tried it was hard to get the ship back to how it was meant to be.

Spartos felt stupid, stupid for letting things go this way and mostly stupid for not seeing the storm coming. He and Hinahoho had encountered so many storms before and nothing had ever gone wrong back then, had it? But that was the difference here. Hinahoho was back in Sindria and Sharrkan had no experience at sea. In the time Spartos had been resting, Sharrkan had sent the ship into a storm without knowing what he was doing. At this moment there was nothing Spartos could do, except hoping that it wouldn't end up even worse than it already was.

But this was a bad day and fate would decide to make it worse, without any hesitation. The water rippled, underneath the boat were the silhouettes of monsters. Southern sea creatures had found the ship in distress and with soldiers already busy handling the ship, the two generals were left in a pinch.

Sharrkan took out his sword, frowning. "We didn't have enough problems yet…" He muttered as he readied his household vessel. While the monster prepared to attack, a second one came from the back, firing water at the ship, breaking the thing at various places.

"Sharrkan!" Spartos yelled, as he tried to fend off the second creature while his friend was bothering with the bigger one. "We need to take care of these before the ship goes down." But he knew it was too late for that. There wasn't much Spartos could do. Would this have been a normal day, a normal trip, one creature would be no problem. But the ship was falling apart, people were screaming, and Spartos had no backup. The creature was too far away to attack and throwing his lance would mean Spartos lost his only weapon.

"Spartos, can't you use your household?" Sharrkan yelled as he attacked one of the beast with Foraz Saiqa. Spartos grumbled softly. Sharrkan wouldn't have enough magoi to take out the second beast and Spartos wouldn't want to be seen as useless. Not in this situation. He tightened he grip around his lance and leaped forward. Even if it was all he could do, he didn't want it to end like this.

 **…**

The ship was burning, the waves slammed wildly against Sharrkan's body. The ocean was cold, much colder than it usually was when Sharrkan went swimming with Pisti. But now was not the time to be thinking about the young Artemyran girl. He could feel Spartos slipping from his arms. The man didn't seem to be conscious anymore and if he were, then it wouldn't take long until he would be gone. Parts of the knight's armor were shattered, his clothes torn. Underneath, blood was leaking through the wounds. A deep cut on his chest, another one at his abdomen. Smaller cuts covered his arms and legs. The man could no longer stand on his own, leaning on Sharrkan for support. This was bad, Sharrkan knew. If the wounds were to stay untreated for much longer, there was a good chance that Spartos would never wake up again. They had been lucky enough to end up in shallow waters, near an island.

It had only been a short moment, Sharrkan had slain his enemy when he saw Spartos jump on the other. Trying to kill it, barely succeeding. The Sea creature had been able to shake the knight off after it had been injured, catching him from the waves to bite him. Sharrkan could still hear Spartos' cry of pain. How terrible it had felt to him, a stab in his chest. He had jumped after, killing the creature and jumping down the water to save Spartos. The ship was lost, with it the soldiers and goods they had sworn to protect. All sacrificed to the sea. Sharrkan didn't know how he would ever tell Sinbad such news, if he ever were to return to Sindria at all.

He lay Spartos' body down in the sand, anything better wasn't around. While his own body was exhausted from his lack of magoi and hurting from the cold and wet clothes that covered his body, Sharrkan knew Spartos had priority here. The man's breathing was shallow, the wounds across his body not doing any better since he was out of the water. The ocean water was already not the best scenario for such wounds, the sand of the beach was even worse.

The first thing that had to happen, Sharrkan decided, was to remove the armor and see what the wounds were actually like. Sure, still being close to the Sindria meant that the temperature would mean the cold was no problem. But stripping a man, Spartos especially, felt so wrong. Not that there was much of the armor left to begin with and surely Spartos would forgive him for saving his life. Or at least so Sharrkan thought as he loosened the chest plate and removed it. The shirt came after that. Once removed, Sharrkan could feel his breath stop for a moment. The monster's teeth had clearly injured Spartos badly. Deciding that the only thing he could do was bandaging the wounds. But even that wouldn't be good enough. He teared his clothes to have them serve as any kind of bandage. It wasn't anything good, but there was nothing else left on the island for now. All Sharrkan could wish for was that his friend would at least pull through the night. The sun had started to set, the loss of magoi finally making Sharrkan reach his limit as he lay down in the sand and entered a restless sleep.

 **…**

His body felt heavy and honestly, Spartos no longer knew if he was alive or not. He wanted to move a finger, only finding himself unable to do anything. Oh if only he could open his eyes, but they were so… his eyes were glued together and opening them was no option. He tried to remember what he had been doing, but his mind was blank. He had been on a ship with Sharrkan, right? It had been a nice trip. Until… until… He couldn't remember.

Slowly his senses came back to him. First the ache in his body, the feeling as if his body was falling apart and he had to be awake to endure the torture. Then the sound of the sea, followed by its smell, probably combined with the stench of his own body. The ground he was laying on came next, it was hard and Spartos knew this couldn't be his bed in Sindria. Once again he tried to open his eyes. Ever so slowly he could feel the eyelids separate from each other, only to be closed soon after. The light was too bright. He groaned softly, finding even that hard to do. There were more sounds around him, footsteps perhaps.

"Spartos, hey Spartos?" The voice was so loud. Spartos groaned again, hoping that would make the voice stop. But instead, it got even louder.

"Spartos, are you awake? Please open your eyes." That voice was… Sharrkan. So that meant Spartos wasn't alone here. Once again, Spartos tried to open his eyes, again met by the sunlight that blinded him. How much he wanted to block it with his arms. If only he could lift his damn arm to do that.

"Hurts…" Spartos whimpered, shocked by how raspy his voice had become. "Light…"

He could hear Sharrkan laughing softly next to him. "I'm glad you still have that side of yours. I thought you were going to die these past days." Then a sigh. "The light? I'm afraid there isn't much I can do about that. I already dragged you to the shade of the forest, and I'd rather not move you again with injuries like yours."

Well, didn't that sound like torture. But Spartos didn't want anything but to open his eyes and know where he was. Once again he tried, squinting at the first rays of sunlight that entered his vision. But as his eyes opened, the sunlight was more bearable. He blinked a few times, letting himself adapt to his new environment. He saw the trees at first, blocking most of the blue sky and harsh rays of sunlight. He let his vision drift to the side, where he could see Sharrkan. Or whatever was left of him. The man's clothes were tattered, his body covered in bruises and small cuts that were slowly trying to heal. His white hair had become dirty with sand and what Spartos thought was blood.

"You're okay." Sharrkan sighed, relief showing in his eyes. "Well… as okay as you could be."

"What… happened?" Spartos tried to ask.

The Heliohaptan frowned. "You don't remember? Well I don't blame you. We were out on the ship when we got stuck in a storm and southern sea creatures attacked us. I tried to stop them as did you. But the ship was destroyed, it seems we're the only ones who made it. There's nothing left. We stranded near this island, you were asleep for two days."

Spartos groaned softly. "And now? We're doomed to starve here?"

Sharrkan laughed softly. "That's not what I plan to do. You almost died once already, it'd feel bad if my efforts to save you were for nothing now."

"You saved me?" Spartos asked, surprised.

"Well yeah. You're a fellow general after all. I can't lose you. Ah but I hope that you…" His eyes drifted away from Spartos and the knight realized he did not feel the usual weight of his armor around him, "I had to get rid of your clothes. But they were all ruined anyways. That's all there is left." He pointed at a small heap next to them. Spartos saw his chest plate, broken in multiple places.

"My father is going to kill me if he finds out I ruined my armor." Spartos sighed.

"I'm glad that is the thing that is bothering you." Sharrkan laughed.

"Not being able to move is also bothering me, you know." Spartos groaned, closing his eyes again, feeling too tired to stay awake all the time."

"I understand. But with wounds like yours, it's better not to move for a while." Sharrkan stood up. "You should sleep some more. I'll go look for some food. Once people find out the ship never arrived at its destination, they might come to look for us. It should be a week at max. So use that time to heal."

Spartos nodded, his consciousness drifting off soon enough. Being stuck on an island was horrible, but at least it was bearable if Sharrkan was around to take care of him.

 **…**

Days went past oh so slowly. Most of it was Spartos sleeping, his injuries only healing slowly. And Sharrkan knew that he still needed actual care. What the Heliohaptan had done, were only some simple emergency measures. The wounds on the guy's chest wasn't healing well. And movement was still hurting the him. Sharrkan hated it. In some way, he was glad he had something to do. The island wasn't much more than a beach and a few trees. With Spartos weakened, Sharrkan was responsible to find food, which meant fishing. Fish every day again, along with water and some coconuts. It was a boring life, but Sharrkan got used to it. For as long as he knew there would his friends who would rescue him. Every day he kept his sword close to him, hoping that being close to his household would tell Sinbad that he was still alive. For that same reason he kept Spartos' lance close to the knight as well.

After three days, Spartos had recovered enough to stay awake for longer times. Though he still spent most of the day asleep, being unable to do anything but sleep. It was during one dinner, that Sharrkan finally found the courage to talk about the ship wreck again, afraid he would hurt Spartos more if he had asked earlier.

"Hey Spartos," Sharrkan said as he took the cooked fish from the fire, "about that fight with the sea creatures…" He sighed, looking down at the ground. "Why didn't you use your household? You could have beaten that thing easily. So why didn't you? Why did you attack it so reckless, bringing yourself to death's door?"

He could see Spartos shifting in the sand, murmuring words. "Couldn't…"

"What?" Sharrkan looked up, seeing the pained expression on the general's face.

"I couldn't. Sharrkan… I don't have a household." The words in came with difficulty and left Sharrkan shocked.

"What do you mean, you don't have one? You've been with us for years. You serve Sinbad as much as any of us do, why wouldn't his djinn pick you to join his household?"

"Because I'm not like you! I'm only replacing my brother!" Spartos snapped. "Mystras was Sinbad's household and I'm just there in his place. I'm not worth being on the same level as you guys. I didn't want you to know all this. Hinahoho knows about it, but he, Ja'far and Sinbad are the only ones."

"Aren't you just bringing yourself down with this? You're not Mystras, you never will be. You're you, Spartos. If you'd see yourself worthy of a household vessel, you could get one the moment you meet Sinbad again."

Spartos shook his head. "No… Sinbad always told me how beautiful Mystras' spear of lightning was. I could never be like that."

"And you don't have to! You don't need to beg Baal for another lightning spear! Be special and I don't know, try getting Crocell or Vepar to give you strength."

"Vepar? You want me to share powers with a mermaid?" Spartos laughed soflty.

"A beautiful mermaid. it would fit you, think about it." Sharrkan laughed.

Spartos sighed, his eyes going to the lance that hadn't moved in the sand ever since it had been placed here. "I don't know Sharrkan. I'm still only here because Mystras couldn't be. It's better if I don't get to familiar with everyone. It's why I like guarding ships so much. I'm still useful, but away from people. And Hinahoho was close to my brother, especially when he and Pipirika. You know… But with everyone else, there's just a gap between us."

"Spartos, please don't say that." Sharrkan said, handing one of the fish to Spartos so he could eat. "No one sees you as a replacement. We were all kids when Mystras was around, but you are the guy we got to know as teens and adults. You're not Mystras, for none of us, and we love you for that. At least I do."

"Well thank you Sharrkan. But… it's just difficult for me." Spartos said before he took a bite.

"I'm here for you." Sharrkan smiled, "I'll always be."

 **…**

It was five days later that a Sindrian ship arrived at the island. Word of the destruction had reached king Sinbad once the ship had not arrived at its destination before the end of the week. Fearing the lives of his generals and people he had set out find whatever was left of the ship. Which, he found out, was nothing. But he had a feeling, a small feeling that Focalor was still connected to Sharrkan, that they were alive.

After two days of sailing, he found the location of the shipwreck. There was nothing left but a few wooden planks drifting in the water and an extra amount of monster, probably feeding of the corpses that fallen into the water a long time ago.

In the distance however, there had been an island and Focalor was calling him to look there. It was there that he found them. Sharrkan and Spartos, both alive and well. At least for how well two people caught in a shipwreck could be. Sharrkan's clothes were torn, parts now covering Spartos' body in multiple places. The Sasanian knight wasn't even covered in much clothing except for his pants, the makeshift bandages covered in blood.

Their faces lit up the moment they saw their king. Sharrkan ran to the king, while Spartos tried his best to stand up to greet his king properly. Concerned, Sinbad came over to help the knight stand, bringing the two of them back to the ship to have them get the care they needed and to catch up on what had happened to the both of them.

 **…**

Weeks later, Spartos had finally recovered from his wounds. As much as Sharrkan had helped him, he couldn't stop the fact that the wounds were leaving scars all over the knight's body. The wounds were too old to be healed in totality with magic. Even if most of it was fine, two large scars ran over his chest and abdomen. It hurt Sharrkan, but at the same time, he knew there was nothing for him to feel bad about. Those scars were a sign Spartos had survived that day, that this was no dream. But the shipwreck wasn't going to stop Spartos from doing his job. There would be another ship going out again.

"So, you are leaving again?" Sharrkan asked, leaning over the balcony of the palace, looking over the island.

"It's my job to guard ships." Spartos said, sighing. "My wounds healed, I'm just fine."

"And I can believe you will be fine this time?"

"Sharrkan," Spartos said, smiling softly, "I've always been fine. What happened to us was something special, it doesn't always happen."

"And I'd rather see you return in one piece instead of cut open by a fish." Sharrkan pouted.

"That's why I have Hinahoho with me and not you." Spartos laughed. "You can defend Sindria on the land, I will be at sea to do what I can do best."

"And when will you get a household?" Sharrkan joked.

"One day." Spartos said as he walked away. "And who knows, I might get Focalor to be at my side."

"Yeah…" Sharrkan smiled, watching the knight leave, "that would be nice."


End file.
